kerala fried chicken

Kerala fried chicken is southern fried chicken with a big Indian twist. Everything you love about fried chicken jacked up with green chili, cilantro and spice.

I don’t think Kerala fried chicken is anything you can get in India. I’ve never seen on an Indian restaurant menu. But I did see it on Ugly Delicious. This is the brain child of Asha Gomez. And it’s brilliant. I’d never heard of it. But if it’s good enough for David Chang…

Fried chicken is my guilty pleasure. So as soon as I saw this I had to try to figure it out. Wound up eating way too much fried chicken. Made my house stink like a deep fryer. But it was worth it. So worth it. It’s incredible. Ms. Gomez is inspired.

This is crispy like great southern fried chicken. It’s got that juicy buttermilk brined thing going on. But it has a big Indian tastes too. Not fusion. More like a mash up. And there’s a bit of fire too. A nod to Nashville hot chicken.

It wasn’t easy to figure out. There’s a few recipes scattered around online. Some clues. But they don’t line up with what I saw on Ugly Delicious. And I figure Asha Gomez talking to David Chang was more credible than adapted from a book by Bon Appetit.

So I watched that bit of the episode about 20 times. Thought about everything she said. Little hints. Clues. More garlic. Big taste of ginger. Chili powder and garam masala to finish. And this is what I came up with.

It’s a variation on mint coriander chutney mixed with buttermilk. That’s the big secret. I managed to get the proportions close by matching the colour of the brine on the show. Indian spices in the flour dredge. That wasn’t so hard to figure out. Boneless skinless chicken thighs. Only ever boneless skinless chicken thighs according to Asha Gomez.

And the final touch. A dusting of garam masala and kashmiri chili powder on the finished product. Thanks again Ugly Delicious.

I’ll never know if I got it right. Her restaurant is closed now. Sad. But at least I have this. And so do you.

KFC. First there was Kentucky. Then came Korean. Now there’s Kerala fried chicken. Kentucky is not my favourite. But it’s a real toss up between Korean and Kerala.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot. You want the oil at least a few inches below the top. The chicken will bubble up and you don't want to burn the house down.

Regulate the heat to maintain the oil temperature at 350F. This is a pain. Be ready for it...

If using curry leaves, fry them briefly in the hot oil. Fried curry leaves are really good. I did not know that myself until I tried figuring out this recipe.

Shake of the excess buttermilk marinade. Dredge no more than 4 pieces of chicken in the flour mixture.

Deep fry the chicken no more than 4 pieces at a time. Cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 175F. This takes about 5 minutes. If you go a little over 175F don't worry. Buttermilk brine makes this recipe forgiving if you overshoot.

Put the first pieces of chicken on a wire rack on a baking sheet and place the oven while you cook the remaining chicken.

To serve drizzle the chicken with the liquid coconut oil. Sprinkle with the garam masala mixture. Garnish with fried curry leaves.

So here’s the self-made dinner I’m just finishing: my first every try at Kerala Fried Chicken mashing up your recipe with my 20+ some odd views of Asha’s Ugly Delicious segment (which is totally different than her Curry + Cornbread YouTube Video she did herself, which totally proves your point),and, this other recipe (which too is very different from the UD segment in the exact ways you described!) [https://www.tastecooking.com/kerala-fried-chicken-asha-gomez/]. My changes were that I used 20 cloves of garlic and 6 fingerhot chilis plus a lot more fresh cilantro (because I like it) and fresh mint, plus a container of 0% Fage Greek Yogurt I had on hand. I couldn’t wait anymore and cooked 4 thighs of the 12 I have in the marinade after just 14 hours. I also made a version of your bengali mansoor dal – I only had brown whole lentils on hand and grape tomatoes, but otherwise made it. And, rounded out my plate with a spring mix + baby spinach salad with sliced carrots, one sliced mini red pepper and sliced greenhouse cukes. I wish I had some wine with this. This was AMAZING. Here is a great Indian food wine pairing page [https://winefolly.com/tutorial/pairing-wine-with-indian-cuisine/ ]- I just had the perfect Gamay last Tuesday night that would have gone with this amazingly well. Thank you for your site – I’ll be making a lot from it & sharing with friends.

Angela – that is just such an awesome comment. Thanks for taking the time to write it. Sounds like you had an epic dinner! That’s a great link you shared as well. I had never seen it before. I will start trying out the suggestions.

Yup. Fried chicken – guilty pleasure as well haha! I swear I crave it once a week – there goes my waistline! I love the added flavours and spices you added to the crunchies! Flavour punches in the face is always awesome and also another guilty pleasure of mine! haha! 😀